I had one of my students (also in his 40s or maybe early 50s) do something
similar during the ground run of a winch launch last year, which is
potentially catastrophic, and could have easily caused a big cartwheel
type accident.

On a rather windy and gusty evening the left wing started to drop and he
compounded this this by moving the stick hard left and back! Before I had
a chance to take over the glider was already in the air in a steep
climbing attitude, with the left wing hard on the ground. Somehow I
managed to rescue this situation, probably helped by the fact that our
airfield has relatively short and smooth grass, and a switched on winch
driver. This incident definitely used up one of my nine lives!

This particular student was about halfway to solo, and had not done
anything particularly strange before. When debriefed after the flight he
was unable to explain why he did what he did.

The easiest way of thinking about the ailerons is that they roll the
glider in the direction the stick is pushed. Most people find this fairly
instinctive: It's usually the rudder they find difficult. Certainly when
I learnt to fly, I thought it ought be connected the other way round, so
it was more like a bike. But that's the way the aviation pioneers did it,
so we are stuck with it as a convention and you have to learn to live with
it. Most people do, although I occasionally get students who push the
wrong pedal when entering a turn!

Derek C

At 07:22 19 January 2009, Jack wrote:
Hi all,
I have a problem with correcting the ailerons the wrong way at takeoff,
obviously that is a very serious problem and I would like some feedback
if

possible.

First here is a bit of background.
I am a new glider pilot (44yo), I only have about 40 flights.
I have learnt in 2 different clubs one large club where I never had the
same
instructor for more than 2 flights and a smaller club wher I spent a
week
to
get solo with the same instructor.
I started flying gliders a few month ago and had a reasonably fast
progression, at 32 flights I went solo (in the small club) and had a
couple
of solos that went fine.
Then back to the larger club I had a few more flights with new
instructors,
flights weren't perfect but all safe and without incidents.

Then Yesterday as I was taking off in calm conditions I touched the
ground

with a wing, the instructor had to intervene, it was the 1st time an
instructor took the commands in a critical situation.
He just put the glider flat and gave me control back 5 seconds later. The

rest of the flight went fine, I had difficult conditions in circuit where

another glider was joing at the same time and height as me but I
handeled
it
well.

Back to the incident the instructor does not know what happened, I
suspect

he did not have the hands on the commands but unfortunatley I think I
know,
as the left wing dropped I think I gave stick to the left instead of
right.

While at the small club at around flight 20 or 25 I had a similar
situation,
left wing dropped at takeoff, I gave a bit of left, the instructor
shoted
to
me to give right and apparently I gave some more left and then right. The

instructor very worried about it and told me she had never seen someone
with
that problem. From my side I didn't remembre what I did.

It is not that I had all easy take offs where I had nothing to do, I have

done a few in 10+kts cross wind take off and landings and didn't have
problems.

Then a possible 3rd incident, landing after touch down on the ground
roll
I
suspect I have used the wrong aileron control and the caught up and
compensated the right way.


Where I would like feedback is if someone has seen such or similar
behaviour, what were the cures, does it go away ?

I have an idea of what may cause that problem but I dont want to expose
it

yet as it may inhibit the responses based on another theory.

Thanks